Dispatches from Nigeria: the actions of Royal Dutch Shell and ChevronTexaco in the Warri Crisis, 2003–2004

Abstract

ABSTRACT Royal Dutch Shell and ChevronTexaco played central roles in the Warri Crisis, a period of deadly violence in the Nigerian oil town of Warri in 2003 and 2004. Scholars have portrayed the crisis as a resource war between local ethnic groups, but US diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks show that Shell and ChevronTexaco shaped the main events of the crisis. The two oil companies pressured the Nigerian government to intervene in Warri when violence between local ethnic groups disrupted oil production. Shell worked closely with the Nigerian government to fund, plan and implement a military intervention, and provided Nigerian security forces with cash, equipment and logistical support. Offering an unprecedented look into the secret actions of the oil companies, the WikiLeaks cables reveal that Shell and ChevronTexaco were dominant actors in the Warri Crisis. Both companies acted in ways that contributed to the violence.